Glossary
Bitcoin mining terms.
The vocabulary of mining and mining datacenters, in plain language.
- ASIC
- Application-specific integrated circuit: a chip built for a single task. Bitcoin ASICs only compute SHA-256.
- Block
- A batch of confirmed transactions added to the Bitcoin blockchain roughly every ten minutes.
- Block reward
- The newly issued bitcoin plus fees paid to the miner who finds a block. The subsidy is 3.125 BTC since April 2024.
- CDU
- Coolant distribution unit: equipment that circulates and conditions liquid for cooling loops.
- Difficulty
- The network target for finding a valid hash. It is adjusted every 2,016 blocks to keep blocks about ten minutes apart.
- Dielectric fluid
- A non-conductive liquid used to submerge and cool electronics in immersion systems.
- Hashrate
- The number of hash computations per second, in TH/s, PH/s or EH/s.
- Halving
- The event, every 210,000 blocks, that cuts the block subsidy in half.
- J/TH
- Joules per terahash: the energy a miner uses per unit of hashrate. Lower is better.
- Mining pool
- A group of miners who combine hashrate and share rewards.
- Nonce
- The number miners vary to try new hashes of a block.
- PDU
- Power distribution unit: a strip or cabinet that delivers power to the machines in a rack.
- Proof of work
- A consensus method where participants prove they spent computing effort to add a block.
- PUE
- Power usage effectiveness: total facility energy divided by IT energy. 1.0 is the ideal.
- SHA-256
- The cryptographic hash function used in Bitcoin mining.
- Stratum
- The protocol miners use to get work from a pool and submit shares.
- UPS
- Uninterruptible power supply: batteries that keep equipment running during outages.